In spite of advancing digitalization, manual workstations are still indispensable because automation is not always profitable with small batch quantities or complex processes.
Since 1996, the Plant 15 machining operations at Mercury Marine have included a reliance on automated machining cells. Over the years, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer and distributor of marine engines, parts, accessories and integrated systems has phased out some traditional manufacturing methods in favor of modern cells.
3D Systems said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided 510(k) clearance for maxillofacial surgical guides 3D printed using its LaserForm Ti and DuraForm ProX PA materials.
Since 1922, Otto Martin Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG has been manufacturing best-in-class woodworking machinery at its production facility in Ottobeuren, located in the idyllic alpine Allgaeu region of southern Germany.
The service bureaus that grew in lockstep with 3D printing’s early rise in popularity have largely evolved into one-stop shops for a variety of machined, fabricated, plastic-injection molded, and of course 3D-printed parts.
Hockley Pattern & Tool, Halesowen, England, is an example of a company dedicated to the art and science of making perfect tooling.
After three years of work, military researchers are near the end of a project to find a faster, cheaper way to make tools for large aerospace parts like skins for wings and fuselages.
Solid-carbide round tools have seemingly been around forever; before them, high-speed steel (HSS) tools ruled the roost, and after them a growing selection of alternative processes like indexables, EDM, waterjet and now additive manufacturing emerged as competition.
In an announcement orchestrated from Barcelona, California-based HP in June announced an expansion of its 3D printing business.
Today’s job shops can distinguish themselves from competitors by adding deep hole drilling/gundrilling to their offerings. But complex, custom-built machines require more floor space and a bigger investment.